Hospital AI coding added $942 million to bills
A Blue Cross Blue Shield analysis says hospitals' AI coding tools raised bills by $942 million while the care delivered stayed the same.
The analysis
A claims analysis by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association estimates that hospitals' use of AI-assisted clinical coding added $942 million to hospital costs in 2024 and 2025 compared with a 2023 baseline. Of that, $653 million came from secondary diagnoses. Insurers in the association's network cover more than 100 million Americans.
The evidence
The share of inpatient stays billed as medically complex rose from 37% at the start of 2023 to 40% by the end of 2025. Among patients having major intestinal surgery, diagnoses of partial obstruction rose 55% and of excess bodily acid 33%, yet treatment rates for those conditions did not rise. The association reads this as AI finding billable conditions rather than sicker patients.
Hospitals push back
Hospitals reject that reading and argue that patients admitted today are simply older and sicker. The dispute marks one of the first large, numbers-based fights over AI on the revenue side of healthcare.